Argile and Auchinbreac rode at our head -- his lordship on a black horse called Lepanto, a spirited beast that had been trained to active exercises and field-practice; Auchinbreac on a smaller animal, but of great spirit and beauty.

Chestertons battle poems, such as Lepanto or The Ballad of Saint Barbara, make The Charge of the Light Brigade read like a pacifist tract: they are perhaps the most tawdry bits of bombast to be found in our language.

1. Jasper Johns $80 million last year for "False Start", painted in 1959 2. Cy Twombly $20 million in 2002 for "Lepanto" painted in 2001 3. Robert Rauschenberg $12 million in 1999 for "Factum II" painted in 1957

It was the Trafalgar Day service – marking the 205th anniversary of Nelson's victory this Thursday – so, with many old sailors in the congregation, Camperdown was mentioned and Lepanto, the Glorious First of June and other long-gone actions at sea.